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U.S. NEWS A3
Saturday 28 November 2015
Evolving Black Friday mostly tame across America
The Associated Press stores in Chicago’s high- Linda Meehan, right, and her daughter Nicole Flodin, center, exchange greetings with a NYPD
NEW YORK (AP) — Black end shopping district to anti-terror patrol unit in Herald Square, as they carry bags from their “second round” of shopping
Friday, the unofficial start draw attention to the po- since arriving from their home in London, England, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, in New York. “We landed
to the holiday shopping lice shooting of a black last night at 7 o’clock and by half past eight we hit the shops,” said Meehan. “Every year we come
season, isn’t always what teenager. here and do our Christmas shopping on Black Friday.”
people expect. The demonstration came
In Colorado, for instance, after the release of a vid- (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
marijuana stores got into eo this week showing the
the act. In Arizona, families fatal shooting of 17-year- of families and dogs hiked STORES VS APP on its website and in its
skipped the spending fren- old Laquan McDonald last through the saguaro cac- For the first time, analysts stores than the same time a
zy to go hiking. And in Chi- year. The video touched off tus-covered mountains. had predicted more than year ago. Target’s CEO Bri-
cago, shoppers snapped largely peaceful protests. Many said they didn’t plan half of online traffic to re- an Cornell said that online
photos of demonstrators On Friday, some of the on shopping on Black Fri- tailer sites would come sales on Thanksgiving were
protesting the police shoot- demonstrators in Chicago day anyway. from smartphones than strong, outpacing the per-
ing of a black teenager. linked arms to form human Krista Wells, of Tucson, said desktops during the four- formance on the holiday a
Overall, there seemed to chains in front of main en- she wanted her daughters day Black Friday holiday year ago. That’s making it
be smaller crowds through- trances to stores. to understand that the holi- shopping weekend. Target’s biggest day online
out stores and malls across Store employees directed days are about spending On Friday, there was evi- for sales yet, driven largely
the country. shoppers to exit from side time with family, not shop- dence that shoppers were by electronics. He also was
Here’s how the day played doors. When one person ping. vacillating between both pleased with store traffic.
out: tried to get through the “This is about the season stores and online. And J.C. Penney’s CEO
front door of Saks Fifth Av- of bringing together and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s chief Marvin Ellison said that
NO MAD RUSH enue, protesters screamed reflecting upon family and merchandising officer Steve the chain worked hard to
Business was brisk but not at him, shouting, “Shut it getting into the Christmas Bratspies told the Associat- make its app more user
overwhelming at a Macy’s down! Shut it down.” holiday. I don’t think there’s ed Press that the chain saw friendly, and as a result, its
in Kansas City as rain that Entrances were also a retail holiday,” she said. more shoppers buying both online sales.q
started Thursday morning blocked at the Disney
continued falling. There Store, the Apple Store, Nike,
didn’t appear to be any Tiffany & Co., and Neiman
lines more than a few cus- Marcus. Many shoppers
tomers deep. seemed to take the distur-
Gerri Spencer and her bance in stride, and some
daughter left home at 4 even snapped photos of
a.m. and made their way the crowd.
to a Macy’s store several Protesters took different ap-
hours later. Spencer said proaches. The Rev. Jesse
the crowds seemed sparser Jackson, for instance, led
than in the past when Black a prayer with a group from
Friday meant “getting out the steps of Chicago’s his-
at the crack of dawn” to toric Water Tower.
get the best deals.
Some Black Friday shop- WEED FRIDAY
pers seemed to miss the Colorado has a new Black
holiday crowds. Friday tradition: Marijuana
At a Kmart in Denver, Su- shops drawing shoppers
san Montoya had nearly with discounted weed and
the entire store to herself. holiday gift sets.
She half-heartedly flipped At Denver Kush Club in
through a rack of girls’ Denver, about two dozen
holiday party dresses and customers were lined up in
looked down the store’s subfreezing temperatures
empty aisles. and snow showers to take
“There’s no one out here! advantage of the deals.
No challenge!” she said. The first few customers got
Lynette Norcup also is nos- free joints, free rolling pa-
talgic for Black Fridays of pers and a T-shirt with pur-
the past. chase. Medical customers
Sitting in the warmth of her were offered ounces of
daughter’s SUV waiting for marijuana for $99 — a sav-
Wal-Mart to open, the resi- ings of about 50 percent.
dent of Pleasanton, Cali- The shop blasted reggae
fornia said she thinks the music and welcomed the
excitement has fizzled with crowd with Green Friday
stores opening on Thanks- welcome cheers. Similar
giving. deals were offered last
Norcup misses the chal- year, the first in which re-
lenge of strategizing to tail recreational marijuana
score deals. sales opened.
CHICAGO PROTESTS GREAT OUTDOORS Protesters make their way up North Michigan Avenue on Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, in Chicago. Com-
Hundreds of protesters At Catalina State Park just munity activists and labor leaders hold a demonstration billed as a “march for justice” on Black
blocked entrances to north in Arizona, dozens Friday in the wake of the release of video showing an officer fatally shooting Laquan McDonald.
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
